Andrew Maginley - The Baroque Lute (2006)

Andrew Maginley cuts a striking figure in the placid world of lute playing. He towers well over six feet, even without his height-enhancing cowboy boots. Often leather-clad, his curly black locks loosely frame a complexion that conveys his Afro-Caribbean, Celtic and Native American ancestry. Andrew focuses primarily on repertoire for the D minor baroque lute which benefited from contributions by the three composers on this CD. The centrepiece is the magnificent D minor Sonata by Sylvius Leopold Weiss, who was a friend of J S Bach, whose First Cello Suite Maginley has masterfully transcribed. Finishing the CD is a delightful rococo F major Sonata by their slightly younger contemporary Adam Falckenhagen. Andrew previously appeared on Avie as director of period-instrument ensemble The Frolick on Calliope: English Songbooks of the 1700s, with contralto Emma Curtis (AV 2102).